Jon Niese (3-7, 4.12 ERA) and the New York Mets (40-37) meet Kyle Hendricks (2-4, 4.46 ERA) and the Chicago Cubs (39-35) in the first of a three-game series at Citi Field. The Cubs go into this series on a five-game losing streak. The game gets underway at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jun. 30 and will air on CSN-CHI and SNY.
Niese is 3-5 with a 5.23 ERA and 1.61 WHIP against the Cubs in his career. Curtis Granderson (.259, 42 Rs, 13 HRs, 27 RBIs, 5 SBs) played well again Sunday, going 2 for 5 with two RBIs. In his career against the Mets, Hendricks is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and three strikeouts. Kris Bryant (.273, 40 Rs, 10 HRs, 43 RBIs, 6 SBs) went 1 for 4 Sunday.
New York is a small -115 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Mets perform well as a favorite with a 33-12 record and have an overall money line of +47. The Mets will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In the last 10 games, New York has only averaged 2.2 runs per game compared to the 3.6 they’ve averaged on the season. As for the pitching staff, the Mets rank fourth in the NL in ERA with a 3.47 team average. The Mets are fourth in the league in WHIP at 1.20.
On the other side, the Cubs have a record of 16-16 when they are the underdog and are +88 overall with the money line. During the last 10 games, they averaged 2.5 runs per game, below their 4.0 season average. One of the top road hitting teams in the NL are the Cubs, who average 8.9 hits in games away from home. Switching gears to Chicago’s pitching staff, they have the fifth-lowest ERA in the NL at 3.53. They have a WHIP of 1.20, fifth best in the MLB. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in baseball with an NL-high 8.3 strikeouts per road game.
So far this season, the Cubs are 4-0 against the Mets. The Mets will take on a right-hander (Hendricks) in this game and have a 34-31 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Cubs will be the left-hander Niese. They sport a 6-4 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – CHC, O/U – Over
Notes
When the Mets play into extra innings, they have a 4-1 record. The Cubs are 9-4 when their games exceed nine innings.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Cubs are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Mets have a 17-3 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Cubs are 7-27. The Mets have an 11-30 record when opponents outhit them.
New York ranks in the bottom half of the league at 18th when it comes to home runs, hitting 65 this season. Chicago ranks in the top half at 13th with 71.
New York and Chicago both rank in the top half of the league in hits. New York sits at 15th with 7.75 hits per game and Chicago ranks 11th with 8.38.
Ranking 28th, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.664). Chicago ranks in the bottom half at 18th with an OPS of .706.
When the Cubs allow at least one home run, they are 22-23. When the Mets allow one or more homers, they have a 16-25 record.
